her first and only love
by lucky charm emmy
Summary: ONESHOT...james went off to college leaving his childhood sweetheart pining over him...now hes back and lily's...in love with him and engaged to another...


Lily rested her head against the cool marble tabletop, trying her best to control her rapid breathing. There was no way she was letting anyone else know what just happened. The gossip and controversies were something she just couldn't handle right now. Having made out with the masters' son was enough of a problem for her without others jabbering about it.

And the worst part was that he wasn't just the masters' son, he was also her bestest friend in the whole world. That is, before he left for college and her life changed forever.

Being a maid's daughter never bothered her-or him-or their friendship. Lily still remembered the first day she came to the mansion.

_Lily walked in through the huge gates and gaped at the magnificent house in front of her. Mama called it a 'mansion'. She walked along the lawns aimlessly. Mama had already explained to her that she would not be around as she had to work. But Lily could roam around all she liked provided she kept out of trouble. Wondering whether there were any kids her age in this 'mansion', Lily entered the small garden at the back. _

_It was beautiful! There was a tiny gazebo and a small pebbled path curved around it. Along the wall, a curtain of vines grew and a bed of roses circled the entire garden. Lily knew that this was going to be her favorite part of the house._

"_Hey! Who are you?" _

_Lily turned around to face a boy, about her age looking at her curiously. So there were kids her age! Good, she would have someone to play with._

_She held out her hand to him. "Hello. I'm Lily. And you?"_

_He shook her hand. "I'm James. What are you doing here?"_

"_My mama works here-"_

"_So you're a maid's daughter? I never knew any of the maids had kids..."_

"_Well, she's new..."_

"_That explains it. Well, it'll be nice to have a friend around here. It's incredibly dull to wander around alone you know."_

_Lily stared at him. The boy had a really good vocabulary._

"_Are there no other kids?"_

"_No. It's just the two of us now."_

"_Oh."_

_James smirked. "So be careful. I won't let go of you now."_

_And he kept his word. Since that day, the pair was inseparable. With all the free time and the huge mansion to explore, Lily and James did everything together. He'd even requested his mother to give her a room right next to his and with a connecting door so that they could spend more time together._

_The mistress compiled readily as she was exceptionally fond of her sons little friend and made up for her mothers absence more often than not. It wasn't that Lily minded, her mother wasn't much of one anyways- giving birth out of wedlock, she didn't care much for her daughter and took her on as a mere responsibility. So, when she was shifted to another house as a maid, she didn't think twice about accepting the mistress' request to let Lily stay._

_The problems started as Lily reached puberty. She was no longer just a kid and had to start helping in al the household chores. She was a maid's daughter after all. But the mistress made sure she wasn't burdened much. But what really bothered her was the ever growing closeness between the two. _

_James often used to come into her room at night, and when the maid was sent to awake him, he was found in Lily's bed, both of them curled around each other. The mistress was worried about him getting too close to Lily physically. She did not want ant teenage pregnancies in her household._

_But her worries did not materialize as James was very careful when with Lily. He knew what could happen if he got too close to her and a small part of him was afraid of what might happen if she rejected him. Though everyone knew how much Lily loved him. She wouldn't hear a word against him and the day he announced that he was going off to college, she ran off to their garden and cried her heart out just so he wouldn't see. But she couldn't hide everything from him either. That night James came into her room and..._

_Lily looked in the mirror. Her eyes were still a bit puffy from crying. She had to fix it before James came. But before she could even turn around, the connecting door opened. _

"_Why the hell did you leave?"_

_Lily shuddered. She'd never seen him so angry before. When she failed to answer, he crossed the room in two strides and grabbed her by the shoulders, lifting her from the ground._

"_Answer me."_

"_I- I- couldn't s-stay any l-l-longer." She stammered as he scrutinized her face_

"_Have you been crying?"_

"_No..." she lied, hoping he wouldn't guess. But James wasn't one to be fooled easily. He recognized the puffy eyes and the red rims around them. His tone softened immediately as he lowered her and wrapped his arms around her trembling figure._

"_What's wrong Lily?" he whispered gently. _

_Lily trembled and the tears started to fall once again. Sensing them, James hugged her tighter and placed a kiss on her head._

"_Ssshhh..." he lifted her in his arms and carried her to her bed. _

_Seating her on the soft mattress, he hugged her once again till she called down and managed to form a coherent sentence._

"_You're leaving..."_

"_So?"_

"_So? So you'll be gone and then nothing will remain the same! You'll come back with a pretty girlfriend who you'll marry and have kids with and I'll remain here till I grow an old maid and die!"_

_James laughed at this, annoying her even more._

"_There's nothing funny in this James Potter." She glared as he continued to roll around laughing._

_James tried his best to control his laughter and sat up gasping, "Of course its funny doof! Why do you think that I'll come back with someone else?"_

"'_cuz that's what always happens in movies..." she mumbled_

_James chuckled and moved her hair out of her face._

"_There's no way I'm going to forget you Lily."_

_She looked at him expectantly._

"_Really?"_

"_Yep."_

_His fingers curled around her neck and he pulled her closer. He wasn't afraid anymore...he knew she loved him._

_Their lips were just a whisper apart when he said, "I love you." And pressed his lips to hers..._

_James left the next day, promising nothing would change but she knew it wouldn't end that way. In the next three years, she worked as a real maid would in the mansion and though the mistress continued doting on her, Lily knew she'd never let things continue between her and James. And she proved it by getting her engaged to one of her 'lower' friends' son. _

_Lily realized things would never be the same the day mistress called her to her room._

_Lily tapped on the door quietly and heard the mistress permit her enter. _

"_You called ma'am?" Lily whispered. She didn't think she'd be able to trust her voice anymore and so, the lesser she spoke, the better._

"_Yes Lily. I think you know what I've called you here for, don't you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_So what do you think of Severus?"_

"_He's a proper gentleman ma'am but-"_

"_Do you have a problem with him?" the mistress' stern tone scared Lily and she tried to speak as fast as she could._

"_n-no ma'am b-b-but I don't th-think I'm ready for marriage j-just yet."_

_The mistress smiled and her voice grew gentler._

"_Then how about we just have you engaged Lily? The wedding can take place whenever you feel ready for the commitment."_

_Lily desperately wanted to scream out her denial. To say how much she loved James and how he was the only one she would ever marry no matter how long she'd have to wait for him. But the mistress had none too subtly reminded her, the conditions in which she'd lived in for the past years and that this was the only way to repay the 'debt' of having taken care of her and provided a roof over her head when no one cared for her. There was no way she could ever deny this proposal and she quietly replied in the affirmative to the arrangement not bothering how greatly it ripped her heart to a million pieces._

_The engagement was carried out without pomp and further ado. Michael arrived at the mansion that very evening and put the ring in her finger in the presence of his mother and the mistress. That evening was the fist time Lily wished James never return. _

But he had. And she had to hide from him for as long as he stayed in the mansion. Lily was having a nightmare trying to keep him from knowing that his childhood sweetheart was still there.

The mistress had told him that she'd left the mansion to work someplace else and though she knew he wouldn't recognize her even if he did see her, she kept jumping behind pillars and hiding behind curtains whenever he came around.

But she couldn't hide forever... and that was proved tonight when she was cleaning the upstairs bedroom- her old room.

_Lily shook the bedcovers and fluffed the pillows one last time before turning to leave. And just then, she heard him. Right behind her._

_Trembling slightly, Lily turned around to face a pair of sparkling brown eyes and she momentarily forgot to breathe. Her James might've been handsome when they were kids but his looks were nothing in comparison to what he looked like now._

_Taut muscles were clearly visible through the pale blue shirt he wore. He seemed to have grown quite a bit in the years, towering her by almost a head. His untidy black hair shone in the lamplight and Lily had to do all she could to keep herself from running her fingers through those beautiful locks. He was staring at her with an expression of mixed fury and sorrow and confusion._

_Hastily lowering her gaze, she attempted to walk past him, fervently praying that he hadn't recognized her._

_But too late, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around so that her head was resting on his chest. One hand snaked around her waist while the other firmly held her wrist._

_Lily gasped audibly at her new position and attempted to move but his grip was too strong...another attempt to escape resulted in him pushing her against the wall and barring any movement by pinning down her wrists with one hand._

"_Just how long did you think you could hide from me?" his voice was barely a whisper but she heard it clearly and pretended not to understand his meaning._

"_I' sorry Ja-uh-master...I don't know what you're talking about."_

_His grip tightened and he spoke through gritted teeth in an obvious effort to control his frustration... "You know exactly what I'm talking about Lily...stop lying to me."_

"_L-Lily? You must have mistaken me for another maid master...m-my name is...A-Am-Amelia..."_

"_What makes you think I'm a fool Lily? You think I wouldn't be able to recognize you after all these years? Hell! I've been bloody finding out ways to corner you these past three days and demand an explanation as to why you've been avoiding me like a rash all this time?"_

_Lily knew she couldn't lie any longer...especially not with him so close to her. His every move...every breath made her want him even more. And she knew that no matter how much she lied...she couldn't hide her body's response to his mere presence._

_Slowly, she lowered her gaze and explained the whole story of the past three years as quickly as possible._

_Only when she was done talking did she lift her eyes to meet his and wasn't the least bit surprised to see the rage and disgust bubbling in them._

"_My mother did that?" _

"_Yes" was all that she managed to whisper_

_James placed his thumb under her chin and peered at her._

"_How many tines has that bastard kissed you?"_

_Lily stared at him. This was definitely not the first question she'd expected from him..._

"_Uh...not once..." she answered truthfully_

_James looked doubtful "how is that possible? You've been engaged for well over a year now."_

"_Yes...but I never let him kiss me...I didn't like the idea of anyone but you even so much as touching me." She admitted in a low voice_

_James gave her his infamous smile. The one that said he was up to something. The warning bells in Lily's mind started ringing and she tried to escape his grip once again._

"_James..." she started just as he traced his finger along her collarbone sending shivers through her. "What are you doing?"_

_His smile grew wider watching her reaction..."Just wondering..." he said, his fingers now moving lower...his lips replacing where his fingers had been._

_Her breaths were coming in short gasps and she barely managed to say... "Wondering what?"_

"_Just what you meant by someone touching you. Did you mean me touching you like this?" he was now nibbling her earlobe sending delicious jets of fire to her belly. _

"_Mmm..." was all that she could manage and it certainly seemed to satisfy him as he lifted her and placing her on the bed, climbed on top of her and started kissing every part of her that he could._

_It took a lot of self control not to lose her senses with the things he was doing to her but when he finally reached her lips, she lost all ability of forming any coherent though, instead focusing on how perfect the kiss was..._

_And how she'd gotten back her first and only love..._


End file.
